I am a little bit skeptical in sending my son to school as young as he is (he's 18 months old). But the representative from Smart Explorers explained that they have a toddler program that is designed for toddlers as young as 14 months old. I was handed a coupon that will allow my son to attend four (4) sessions of their Smart Toddler program for free, which I gladly accept. If I feel and see that my son is ready, then I'd be more than willing to sign him up.
Smart Explorers International Pre-school and Learning Center is located in Makati and is one of the accredited members of the International Pre-school Curriculum (IPC). One of its missions is to "To foster children's growth in learning in an environment that is nurturing, play-base and developmentally appropriate." It's interesting too because they offer multilingual and multi-cultural learning opportunities.
After the Christmas break, my husband and I took our son to their school. I'm very hands on when it comes to my kids and I want to be there to personally experience how the school is like and what my son's reaction will be. He fell asleep on our way there so when it was time to start the class, he has not settled in yet.
After the Christmas break, my husband and I took our son to their school. I'm very hands on when it comes to my kids and I want to be there to personally experience how the school is like and what my son's reaction will be. He fell asleep on our way there so when it was time to start the class, he has not settled in yet.
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| Story Telling withTeacher Noemi. "It's the scary shark!" |
The session begins with a song and a story. There were a total of 6 kids at that time and my son was the youngest. Teacher Noemi read a story about the creatures under the sea. I know my son loves fishes but surprisingly he just sits there by my side while the teacher reads the book. After the story, we played the game of "follow the leader" where the kids and the yayas follow the teacher as we go around the area...my son willingly obliged.
They have activities that allows the kids to explore several things like shapes, textures, colors with a whole lot of music involved. Even picking up the toys and musical instruments involve singing. Although my son loves music, I didn't quite see that much reaction from him. I caught a few smiles from him but most of the time, I see him observing the other kids around him. I had to coax him into participating in the activity.
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| Great to see the elusive smile of my boy |
Soon the session that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was over and it was time to go. Everyone got a stamp on their hand that says "You're GREAT!" Still no reaction from Andre, which made me wonder how he feels about the experience. Until a day later that I sang to him
"When you're happy and you know, you clap your hands....."
He remembered. He started singing this song over and over at home with that joy on his face. Maybe he enjoyed the session after all. Now I can't wait to take him to the next session.
I did not send my son to school until he was a little over 3. But I do believe that toddlers learn a lot from school - especially if both parents work in an office.
ReplyDeleteGoing to school for a few hours is better than staying home with yaya :)
Thank you for visiting my site Anne.
ReplyDeleteI sent my firstborn to school when she was 4 pero I teach her the basics at home. Although my hubby and I discussed na he might learn to interact early if he was sent to school. As of now we're still observing him until the end of the 4th session then we decide. I completely agree with you though. It's better to send him to school than stay with the yaya for the entire day.